No, we don’t mean putting on your lipstick and trotting down to the disco. Life coach Lynne Copp has written a book called Dancing Round the Handbags that aims to help hard-working women.

As I don’t know any women who don’t work hard, that must be all of us.

Lynne’s book compares life to a handbag and uses different aspects to see what’s holding you back and how you might reach your goals.

She said: “By reviewing your dances and de-cluttering your handbag, you will return to the dance floor of life, to dance to the tunes that you want to dance to.”

In the chapters of the book, she looks at all aspects of life, including health, work, the masks you put on in public, how others see you and what you really want to achieve.

Over the years Lynne held several high-powered positions before running her own business called The Worklife Company.

Alongside the book, Lynne runs workshops, retreats and special coaching for women.

She said:  “Women are always juggling. They are the ones that have to buy the birthday card, remember to feed the cat and do a million and one things.

“But nurturing themselves always comes at the bottom of the list. Yet when you ask women who is to blame when one of the plates drops they say they are. Women believe they should be seen to do it all.’’

Dancing Round The Handbags by Lynne Copp is published by Ecademy Press and is available from Amazon.co.uk.

Bright and breezy at VV Amore

The glitter and sparkle of winter was lovely… for a while. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a shakeup now. I’m craving some brightness in my life.

It’s time to have a look at what we can do to start feeling a little spring-like, even if it is too cold to get rid of big boots and heavy coats just yet. Ah, I hear you say, how about a bag?

Good suggestion. Accessories can be the ideal way to edge towards the new season, even if the rest of your wardrobe isn’t quite there yet.

Black and white will be a big trend this year – the catwalks were full of it  – either all black, all white or a mix of the both. VVAmore can, of course, provide you with plenty of options to catch this trend – Slouchy Babe in black and white, Townie Chic in complete black and for a bit of mix we reckon the Slouchy Joe done in black and white would be cool.

Styles are short-strapped and oversized or oversized clutches and, of course, handbags that make you feel very ladylike. Think HM the Queen – or at least our favourite duchess, Kate – here. We have a few designs in the pipeline and will post them soon.

Stripes make it again and we think we will be right on trend mixing this with bold colours – check out some summer fun here.

Bright in-your-face colour blocks stick with us in the spring season so colour block with a handbag is an easy take on this trend.

Other brights will be around too – orange is going mainstream, red is coming back out again (it’s been a while) and electric blue and turquoise will have their day in the sun.

Let's hope there's no pants in there (Abdone via Dreamstime)

An open letter to the nations husbands and boyfriends.

Dear Sir,

You’ve left it until the last minute, haven’t you? Well don’t panic – and certainly don’t go anywhere near the knicker department of a department store.

Apparently by the end of Christmas day 24 million pair of knickers will have been carefully chosen, wrapped and presented by men to women.

And the shocking statistic is that half of those pants won’t get worn. Instead they get stuck in the back of the drawer behind the every day M&S and the super comfy Sloggis.

They might get worn, just the once probably, before all the left-over turkey is finished. And then they’ll find their way to the back of the same drawer.

We appreciate the sentiment fellows, really. We understand that you probably had to gird your loins for a trip into the lingerie department. But there is a better way.

So, were you planning to buy some scanties for your babe? Hmm. Oh dear, you’ve actually shelled out on something frilly, lacy and colourful.

Gentlemen, for the good of our over-crowded knicker drawers and our over-used “oh how lovely” smiles, stop buying nasty scratchy undies for us. We don’t like them.

For the record, pant buying is a personal thing. There are a great many things we would love for you to do for us instead, just ask.

If you want to be sure to put a genuine smile on your lady’s face you won’t go wrong with a gift voucher for something special and classy such as a VV Amore bag.

PS Visit the VV Amore site for gift vouchers and much more.

She came to visit my studio the other day to see what we do here and to talk about her ideal bag – the one I’m going to make for her.

We started by talking about what really annoys her in a bag: not bring able to find anything, straps too short to go across her body, no pockets on the front, straps too thin, no zip pockets.

She needed a bag large enough to hold everything, tough enough to stand up to quite a lot of abuse and still look fairly smart.

Oh, and she wanted it to be unusual, colourful and still grown-up looking.

We discussed all the options and got totally side-tracked by all the bags – old and new – in my studio. Eventually we concluded that what she needs is a Townie Chic but not in orange.

Very nearly a dream handbag

In the studio there are stacks and stacks of hides in a rainbow of colours with different prints, finishes and dyes. The smell alone is fabulous.

After oohing and ahing over the shades for quite some time, my customer plumped for a rich deep pink.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing the bag. I think it’s going to be brilliant. After all you use a handbag every single day so why not treat yourself to one that you love?”

If you can’t find the bag you want on our website, then have a chat or come and see me. I will be able to create exactly the bag you’re looking for.

VV Amore was out and about this week...

Who doesn’t love getting pressures for Christmas? It doesn’t matter how grown up you are, ripping wrapping paper from a mysterious package on Christmas morning reverts everyone to a delighted six year old.

So, imagine the scene, the turkey is in the oven and the kids kids are playing with whatever Santa brought them.

Your loving other half brings you your first glass of festive fizz and asks: “Do you want your present now, darling?”

So how does that make you feel? Does your heart sink as you mentally prepare your oh-how-lovely-you-shouldn’t-have face? Or do you know that your chap will have managed to find exactly what you want this year?

Ideally, our soul-mate, the person we share our lives with, knows instinctively what we want to receive – the size, shape and brand as well. But, unless you are one of the fortunately few, in order for this to happen, you’ll need to help him along.

There are now several versions of wishlists as smartphone apps, websites or attached to certain retailers. These are a great idea, but they would require a conversation along these lines.

“Have you seen the wishlist website, darling?”

“Um. No.”

“You know the site where people list what they want to get for Christmas.”

“No. Um. Right. Now where’s the remote?”

You can see the problem with that. It’s bound to be slightly more effective than the fabled “leave a magazine lying where he can see it” method, but probably not much.

I found that leaving magazines propped in front of Match of the Day didn’t really have the desired effect.

According to an unscientific poll of a few of my friends, the outcome is clear – just tell him. Men aren’t great at taking hints and they rarely notice subtle messages. The only thing for it is to tell him outright.

Be clear about what you want, where he can get it, the colour you prefer and anything else where a decision is required.

On the other hand, make it easier for both of you with a gift voucher. He gets points and you still get retail therapy – perfect.

The benefit of this is twofold. Firstly, when you reply to the Christmas Day question with a “yes dear, I’d love to open my presents” you can be confident you won’t need to fake your delight. And, secondly, that nerve-wracking moment when your other half sweatily worries if you’re going to like what he’s picked for you is gone. He knows he’s got the right thing and everyone can have a merry Christmas.

VV Amore has just introduced gift vouchers.

There was a time when you weren’t properly dressed if your shoes and bag didn’t match exactly. And wearing black shoes with a brown bag – or vice versa – was about the biggest sin you could commit.

You still see shoes on sale next to bags of the same hue. And I’m sure there are some women walking miles of High Street just to find the shoes in the same shade as the bag she’s got with her.

But there’s a danger of too much matchy-matchy. You know the look. It’s either overdone with too much of the identical shade of teal and rose or, in the case of black, brown or navy, just boring.

While looking a little put-together is a good thing, the time for slavish devotion to co-ordination is over.

And it’s not just me who’s saying it, Mary Portas, Queen of Frocks and Shops, says so too. In her Channel 4 series, La Portas bans her sales staff from serving customers who are hunting for the match. I don’t think she’s entirely joking.

Mary’s fabulous shoes, designed for Clarks, speak for themselves. Named after famous Marys (what else?) you can choose from, among others, La Wesley, in animal print and, my favourite, La Magdelene pink combi.

So what do you put with shoes quite so wonderful and bright? I’d say you either tone down the the rest of your outfit with something subtle – but still knockout.

Or give the shoes a run for their money. How about some animal action by teaming La Wesley with our Slouchy Jungle? Perhaps a Cutesy Clutch would sit alongside the Magdelene – all the colours together?

Marvellous Mary can’t put a beautifully shod foot wrong, so we’d best follow her advice. She also says: “Edit your trends. Work with your proportions. Keep it low maintenance.”

And finally: “Don’t buy crap.”

While the other bits of advice might be slightly bewildering, the last one is spot on, especially when it comes to your everyday work-horse your bag. So – within reason – don’t worry about what else you’re going to wear when you invest in a bag that makes you smile.

The Importance Of Being Earnest

Gyles Brandreth to star as Lady Bracknell

The moment when posh and prim Lady Bracknell says “A handbag” in the Oscar Wilde play is, argueably, one of the most well known in British and Irish theatre.

In case you’ve forgotten, the plot is a parody of class and manners and hinges, in typical Victorian style, on a case of mixed up identity. In this case baby Jack Worthing was found abandoned in a handbag. Jack keeps the bag and, later when he’s grown up, is able to produce it to prove who he really is.

The fearsome Lady B and the handbag as baby carrier are back in the public eye because the play has been turned into a musical. I suppose it didn’t do George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion any harm when it became My Fair Lady.

And in even better news – or at least I think it’s better, but I can’t quite make up my mind. Gyles Brandreth – former MP and hideous jumper wearer – is to play Lady Bracknell. I’m not quite sure about a man playing a woman anywhere but panto and, besides, there are lots of actresses who could do justice to the role. On the other hand, I think Gyles will make an excellent Lady B. You can just imagine him enunciating: “To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness.”

But back to the bag, it’s key to plot, first it carried a manuscript for the novel the nursemaid was writing and then it held a baby. And English scholars have written essays explaining what the handbag stands for in the play. Personally, I think it represents the fact that everyone needs a good handbag, just in case a baby accidently gets left in it.

In a handbag-related twist, a first edition of the play was found inside a handbag in an Oxfam shop in 2007. It sold for £650.

The play says the handbag is black leather, “somewhat large” and with handles. It certainly set a trend that has run and run. Black bags are still the most popular choice.

But if the play can get a makeover that sees a man play a woman, what if the bag could be orange or animal skin. Maybe patent leather or patterned…

Go on, you know you deserve it.

A brand new handbag makes you feel good. So a survey has finally proved what most women have known for a long time.

Apparently a handbag is the purchase that brings the most satisfaction, beating shoes, clothes, chocolates and underwear.

It’s not surprising really though, is it? What other purchase doesn’t care if you’re having a fat day or draw attention to wrinkles or grey hair?

Even shoes can let you down on the make-you-smile front by drawing attention to ankles that aren’t as slender as perhaps they might be.

Furthermore, the very act of collecting everything from your bag, chucking out the rubbish and transferring it over in an orderly manner can make you feel all organised and ready for anything.

The feel-good of a new bag isn’t dented at all by the fact that bags are often the most expensive purchase we routinely make. Perhaps that’s because a bag will get used day after day for months without causing that jaded feeling. In fact, a well-made and carefully chosen bag will serve you year after year without you getting bored of it.

The survey, commissioned by Saveme4later.com asked 2,000 women about their shopping delights.

A well-fitting pair of jeans and the perfect summer dress were also on the list of things women are ‘excited’ to buy. With makeup and beauty products also causing a bit of a retail therapy buzz.

Saveme4later.com spokesman Dermot Dennehy said: “Everyone knows that women love shopping but it’s interesting to see what items women get the most pleasure from buying.

“And anyone who has ever seen a woman on payday knows how much pleasure a women gets from splashing their cash on something they have had their eye on for a while.

“Seeing something you fancy in a magazine advert means you often have days or weeks to think about it before you get paid and can afford it.”

The survey also found that most women say they have less money to spend on themselves than they had a few years ago, consequently a purchase – such as a bag – is all the more satisfying.

Here’s the list in full:

1. Handbag
2. Shoes
3. Summer dresses
4. Concert tickets
5. Jeans
6. Jewellery
7. Little black dress
8. Chocolates
9. Underwear
10. Beauty products

The Townie - a hardworking handbag

Sure, I like my handbags to be gorgeous, but there’s far more to it than that. I want to be 100 per cent certain that a new bag will do everything I want it to.

Here’s how I came up with one of my favourites and our most popular bags – the Townie.

I created it in order to take with me on a trip to New York. I needed a bag that was going to be able to handle the pace on a tough – but very entertaining – visit.

The challenge was to create a handbag that was big enough to carry all the paraphernalia that is associated with a city break holiday– camera, guide book, something to read between landmarks, passport, mosquito spray, Lipsyl and of course all the usual stuff – make up , brush, and so on.

Obviously, with size and weight restrictions on luggage, I wanted to make sure it was a lightweight bag that would go from day to evening.

When I started to plan the Townie bag, I drew up a list of must-have features.

• Space: plenty of room to add things in, so I would make it slouchy.
• Handles: so it can be carried on the shoulder, across the body or on the arm.
• Detachable straps: cross body straps must be removable.
• Pockets: plenty on the front of the bag and inside. Some securely zipped and others for convenient storage.
• Style: bags of it, this is for NY city after all.
• Durability: leather needs to be soft but hardwearing, so it won’t mark or rip easily.
• Minibag: I’ve talked about the minibag before , and it’s so handy – smaller for evening or as a purse.

The Townie worked brilliantly for my time in the Big Apple, but it also proved its worth as an everyday bag once I came home. It’s so versatile – office to dinner, shopping to clubbing. This handbag covers everything a busy life can throw at it.

Towny Cow bag

It’s really easy to be dazzled by the latest trend or seduced by a particularly shiny bit of bling, but choosing a handbag that will last past Christmas is a serious business. We’ve all done it, shelled out for a bag that just didn’t deliver – perhaps it wouldn’t stay on your shoulder, wasn’t big enough or simply looked out of place in your wardrobe.

Obviously, I spend a lot of time thinking about handbags, creating handbag and just loving the good ones. Here are just a few of the things to ask yourself before you get your purse out and part with your money.

• Is the bag so gorgeous that you would want to hand it to your daughter in the future – or after you have finished with it at least?
• Is it stylish and timeless? – beware anything the screams on-trend for only one season or is completely covered in logos. Classic and iconic works for ever but not if you chose a bag with too much bling or OTT motifs.
• Is it well-made? We are not talking a cheap bag knocked up in 10 seconds. If you want to keep it, make sure the seams are well-constructed, there are lots of pockets and an inside that is lovingly designed and as beautifully put together as the outside.
• Will it be too heavy or hurt to carry? Bags that induce back ache really are a no no. Check the weight and think about what you have to put inside. Bags like the Chloe ones are wonderful to look at but, heck, the padlocks are so heavy you could do your shoulder an injury
• Is it versatile? Think about your average day and ask if it works for all the scenarios. Most of us need a handbag that will take them from the office to dinner and carry all their essentials – phone, make up, wallet, plus loads of random items – remember our article on what us girls keep in our handbags. Could your new purchase handle all those things?
• Is it big enough or small enough for that matter? if you can’t fit in your everyday stuff and have no room for extras – like throwing in your iPod, iPad or Kindle then it’s a no no.
• Slouchy or structured? Slouchy is great for a more casual approach and can be flexible if you tend to overfill your handbags but a structured handbag will hold its shape longer.
• Will my handbag make me look good? Don’t buy something that doesn’t fit your style both life and fashion. You will regret it.
• Finally close your eyes and feel the bag – does it feel good? Does it make you think yuuuummmmm? If it does then it’s for you.

If you get it right, you’ll have a friend for life.